The global environmental threat is one of the most discussed issues of the 21st century. While it is considered widely that technological advancements are getting us closer and closer to finding a solution to this catastrophe. One still ponders on the question amid a rising problem, are we moving toward a solution or do more catastrophes await us? Can we achieve environmental goals with technology or is there something else we need to adopt before its too late? Maybe its time to start advocacy for primitive naturism?
While renewable energy has been considered a step forward because of its less carbon footprint, a lot of environmentalists ask if this renewable energy is also green? Similarly, many other questions arise when it comes to technological advancements, whether it is about food security which seems to have increased over the years but at the same time health and well-being have been going down recently, the productivity is improving in almost all sectors but at the cost of the environment. In short, anytime we have come up with a solution for an existing problem we have ended up with a set of new problems to follow up on.
Around a year ago when I was in France, I decided to homestay with a family that lived in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France. While the stay was ordinary like any other of my Couchsurfing or homestay it was a unique experience to learn the values of family. For 3 days I spent with them the first two were in their home in Marseille while the third day we went to a farmhouse. I remember it was Saturday and we went to harvest the “produce of the week”. Marion and Robin who were my host introduced me to the concept of net-zero by growing their food, processing their waste, and living as a naturist. Even their house in Marseille was total zero-waste heaven.
Marion and I had a very long conversation about the net-zero lifestyle that night where she explained to me how everything worked with her and her family. The two kids were the only ones to consume clothing, while even their clothes were made totally out of organic material according to Robin. As per my point of view, it was a luxury that they were able to afford all this, however, according to Marion even though it was a luxury, given the circumstances was changed she was happy to just get rid of customary clothing all along.
All the food that was being consumed by the family was being produced through the farmhouse and all the energy was being produced via the windmill located in the farmhouse. Although for their house in Marseille was being powered by solar which is one of the reasons Robin wanted to leave the house and start living on the farm. However, circumstances did not support this since they were raising 2 children who required education, socializing and other basic needs that will be hard to have in a suburb.
I remember when we were concluding the conversation at night Marion mentioned one statement that was enlightening to me. She said, “Look at where we stand today, there are 8 billion people and the population is increasing while the quality of life keeps decreasing, the conventional farming is an issue, energy need is an issue, the thing is if our growth was organic, we would not be in the problem we are as of today” and I think it makes sense. We keep delaying the inevitable with what we are doing. We keep hanging onto a new ledge and eventually, everything will crumble to the bottom. Our best choice is to have organic growth and move toward primitive technologies and naturistic beliefs.